The Waste Framework Directive of 1975 (75/442/EEC) set out the position regarding waste and how to dispose of it. The Commission presented a proposal for a new Directive COM (2005) 667 on waste to update the original text.
There were three principal reasons for a revision:
Some of the definitions are not sufficiently clear which has lead to uncertainty in interpretation and differing approaches in Member States.
The new Directive introduces a new approach adapted to the fact that waste management objectives are covered by environmental legislation. As such, an environmental objective has been added focussing specifically on reducing the environmental impact of waste.
Simplifying the existing legal framework. The Directive would repeal certain parts of now redundant legislation and integrate others to ensure that the legislation relating to waste is clearly located in one document.
The European Parliament then wrote a report about the new Directive . The Rapporteur's report was submitted in July and the members of the Parliament's Environment Committee have now had a chance to submit their amendments which were voted on in Committee on the 28th November. The Parliament will vote as a whole on the amended report in the February 2007 Plenary session.
Two of the most important aspects of the new Directive are the definitions of recovery and disposal. The waste hierarchy sets out the 5 ways to get rid of waste from the most desirable to the least desirable: reduce, re-use, recycle, energy recovery and disposal.
Certain types of incinerators are defined as recovery rather than disposal because energy is recovered during incineration which is more environmentally friendly than disposal through other incineration methods or landfill.
“Phasing out” landfill and incineration may sound environmentally attractive, I have great concerns about landfill and would like to see its use reduced as much as possible, but it needs much further strenuous examination before being put into any EU law. Without rigorous examination of the economic, social and environmental impacts it would be irresponsible to back such changes. It is important to remember that any new incinerator must comply with the recent EU Waste Incineration Directive. This has been incorporated into UK law and sets legally enforceable clean emission standards. Pushing recycling beyond a certain level may be extremely expensive and possibly environmentally self defeating if we have to expend extra energy in trekking the recyclates to global destinations.
If we get the balance right between landfill limits, waste taxes, support for the waste hierarchy, and categorisation as recovery only for energy efficient incinerators I think we will find that we can work with producers to ensure that they are much more mindful of good eco design because it will be very much in their interests to promote that design. This allows us to meet our environmental aims in the most effective way possible with support from all sides.
